4/30/2014

Thank you to everyone who helped celebrate our #6213oak grand opening! We truly have the most fabulous customers, and the weekend was such a party!

Not able to come by? Jen Hurst of Kansas city's Momcierge stopped by during the Friday evening preview party, and wrote just the loveliest post (view here). I plan on printing to include in the family Christmas card this year. Kidding. #butnotreally

Sales by Type - All sales begin at midnight central time 11/29. Please note some sales have varying end dates. Check back Sunday evening, as Cyber-Monday only deals will be revealed then.Cyber Monday deals added into the list below - find the updates in RED. In addition to the below, all clearance items marked down an additional 10-20%. Prices already updated. Diapers

GroVia - Buy 2, Get 1 Free - New Print Shells and One-Size All-in-Ones and Soakers; no mixing & matching between styles. **please
note - total of GroVia goods does not count towards freebie qualifying
total - in other words, for your freebie it must be that total after the
GroVia items have been subtracted - sorry for the inconvenience.** to redeem: add two 'new prints' Shells, two 'new prints' AIOs or two soaker packs to your cart - comment at checkout which new print or soaker style you'd like for your freebie - IBB will add the free item(s) to your receipt. 11/29-12/2.

Smart Bottoms - Buy 5, Get 1 Free One-Size All-in-Ones - Mention 'free Smartbottoms' and the diaper color/print you would like for your freebie - IBB will add the free diaper on - freebie must be equal or lesser value to the other five purchased.

**for every $30 you spend on any toy or combination of toys get a free Rubbabu mini toy - mention 'Toy With Me' in comments section at checkout ($5.95 value)**

Doorbusters!
Online! From midnight to 2am ct Friday

Shopping in person? These doorbusters will also be offered to local shoppers at our Kansas City location
from 10-1 Friday. Are you a local shopper who wants to get in on the midnight fun (recommended for best selection!)? Feel
free to shop online, select 'local pickup,' and grab your package
when you come by Friday or Saturday.

No codes necessary for any of the following discounts. For freebies, click the link beside the desired freebie. Then add the freebie to your cart. If it lets you add it it means we still have one for you to grab.

AMP - take an additional 5% off

Blueberry - take an additional 5% off

Bottombumpers - take an additional 10% off

bubuBebe wet bags and fitteds (newborn and one-size) - 10% off - these are ONLY on sale during the doorbuster period - after which they will go back to full price

bumGenius - take an additional 5% off

Econobum - take an additional 5% off

Flip - take an additional 5% off

Peachy Baby - take an additional 5% off

Sloomb | Sustainablebabyish | Sbish - spend $75 or more and get a free Sloomb fun pack (contents a surprise, but they are pretty fun!). Snag yours here. Good while supplies last.

Softbums - spend $50 or more on Softbums items and get a free Softbums panda keychain. Snag yours here. Good while supplies last.

No limit of freebies per customer. Please note, there is a limit of one 'freebie' per
order (from the above 'Freebies' list - this does not include the doorbuster Sloomb and Softbums extra goodies, nor does this limit include the carrier stuff sac or Rubbabu toy)! Feel free to submit as many separate orders as you like. If you apply
multiply freebies to your order, we will still only ship one freebie per order.

If your chosen freebie oversells, we will substitute the most
similar option. We have a lot of freebies standing by, but stranger
things have happened....

We make every attempt to get orders out within 1-2 business days,
but please understand the weekend sales make things a bit more hectic.
You will get a shipping notice when your order is on the way. You can
also check the status of your order by logging in to your account. It
will change from 'new' to 'shipped' once it is on its way.

Freebies do not apply to Newborn Diaper Rental bookings or gift certificate purchases.

Who? Anyone with an estimated due date from Oct 2013 through June 2014 is eligible

How? Book your Preloved Newborn Diaper Rental here, paying the full $195 payment. Comment 'Free One-Size Diaper' in the comments section at checkout. No need to confirm availability before booking, we will announce as EDD's fill up.

Specifics?

Your free diaper will ship with your rental.

Minimum value - $19.95+ - IBB will pick the color, style, etc.

Already have a package reserved but haven't made the $160 balance
payment? You are also eligible. Simply make your balance payment of $160
by Oct 26th.

8/22/2013

Seeking: part-time sales associate(s) for our Brookside storefront (depending on availability, we are looking for 1-3 people)What exactly does a sales associate at IBB do? One thing about small business and retail, each day will be different than the last! The store is currently open:10-4 Tues10-4 Wed12-8 Thurs10-4 SatAnd we are looking to expand to Fridays 10-4. Expected Duties To Include:

receiving, sorting, pricing and shelving new inventory

light cleaning (you would not believe the amount of lint a gillion pounds of cotton products will generate on a daily basis)

educating, educating, educating (cloth diapers, baby carriers, natural family products - all require a level of understanding, and it would be your job to help teach, in a succinct and understandable manner, just how these products function in a family's day-to-day life)

packing up online orders

ringing up customers

merchandising the windows and in-store displays

executing opening and closing checklists

reorganizing after a whirlwind of toddlerdom ransacks the bottom two shelves

assisting with inventory audits

making goggly eyes at new babies

Requirements:

ten to twenty hours per week

shift lengths vary from four to six hours

must be able to lift 40lbs

Saturday availability preferred but not required (would be on our call-in list for sick call-ins and such)

to start immediately upon hire

All applications must be received by Thursday, Aug 29th.

If you submitted an application during our call at the start of summer, we still have your application on file. Once we receive all submissions we will then revisit availability, qualifications and skill sets and be in touch if we would like to interview. Experience with cloth diapers and babywearing much preferred but not necessarily required. We are looking for intelligent, outgoing, self-motivated folks who will fit in well with our store (case and point - late on a Thursday you might find us weighing a Chipotle burrito to see if it would ship first class or priority, if one were to ship a burrito).Interested?

Please send a cover letter and resume to me at itsybitsybums at aol dot com

Not sure what to include in your cover letter? Here's an outline of questions we lovvveeee to ask:

At IBB we are a small family business, and see our employees as an extension of this family. We want the dynamic to be fantastic for everyone! Why do you want to work for us, and what makes you a good fit?

With the prevelance of big-box stores carrying cloth diapers and baby carriers, how do small stores such as IBB compete? And, by extension, what does the phrase 'shop local' mean to you? AND, do you shop with us? Have we met you?

Many of our customer interaction is focused on education, as most of the items we carry in the store are a brand new foray for the families who come in, and will require some 101. What past experience - personal or professional - has prepared you well for this education component?

Which of our products are your personal favorites?

Anything else we should know about you?

Please be sure to also include availability, total hours desired and wage requirements in your cover letter

From
there, we grew into a small commercial space. The space seemed like the
ideal bridge between our home and (eventual) storefront.

Unfortunately,
we outgrew it virtually the same day we moved in! But I was committed
to two things - A. not moving into a storefront until our daughter
started preschool and B. remaining debt free with each step forward. Everything came together late last summer, and by fall we'd found our perfect storefront.

Fun fact - the storefront at 6215 Oak St is the very same one I'd wanted from the day the store was merely a twinkle in my eye. True story. And after all these moves, we are still only four blocks from our store's original location!

And now that you know our history, help us celebrate it by PARTYING IT UP! Party starts 8pm July 20th and ends Monday night, July 22nd.

A Tula! That's right! One lucky entrant will win a Tula carrier. Find entry form on our Facebook page. (winner chooses size and print; sponsored by the lovely folks at Tula). No purchase necessary to win.

Every order from 8pm ct tonight (7/20) through Monday (7/22) at 23:59 ct will be entered to win a $50 gift certificate. No minimum purchase to enter.

8. Planet Wise Food Bags
Because M&M's melt in your mouth and not in your hand. No one ever mentioned your pocket.9. Diaper Sprayer
Easy to hook up, no trip to the hardware store and you still come out a hero.

6/01/2013

I've had many ask for a view of how our Great Cloth Diaper Hunt goes from start to finish. Here's the look! Note - sorry about the pixelated images. Screen shots didn't like the download-upload process too much.

First clue at the bottom of our homepage -

Clues 'so cozy' and 'Snappi, pins' lead to you OsoCozy Prefolds -

and the clue at the bottom of the OsoCozy page -

Clue: 'he had forgotten HIS wrap' (note the nurse didn't forget hers - which many thought would be a baby carrier). This leads to you the Thirsties Duo Wraps -

and the clue at the bottom of the Thirsties Duo Wrap page -

Clue? What did he wear? Slippers. Takes you to the Woollybottoms Slippers page -

And the clue at the bottom of the page -

The clues? The lullaby's. What is the theme of all? Carriers! Tula, Boba, Cat(bird) and Ergo. The other key here was to note that these brands offered more than the soft-structured style! Catbird makes both SSC and Mei Tai. And Boba makes both a SSC and stretchy wrap.

Navigating to the carriers -

Takes you to this view, and the chance to browse by category -

Knowing the categories that might fit, here's what happens when you click on 'Mei Tai.' Breadcrumbs, dots, something that is completely and utterly out of place -

Following the breadcrumbs you land on the 'Hello' page. This is the final page. From here, the hunt really draws on the old-school hide-the-link fun. I still distinctly remember finding a hidden link on a hunt three years ago - the pure joy and satisfaction. Sometimes it's the little things.

The story is quick, and the final line's store initials, done in black, draws the eye to the period at the start of the ellipsis.